Lemmy
Ian Fraser Kilmister, best known as Lemmy, was an English musician, singer and songwriter notable for his tenures in Hawkwind and Motörhead among a career in music spanning over fifty years. His music was one of the foundations of the heavy metal genre, regarded heavily among punks and metalheads alike. He was known for his appearance (including his friendly mutton chops), his distinctive gravelly voice and equally distinctive bass playing style. Alongside his music career, he also had many minor roles in film and television. Lemmy was born in Stoke-on-Trent and grew up in North Wales. He was influenced by rock and roll and the early Beatles, which led to him playing in several rock groups in the 1960s, including The Rockin' Vickers. He worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and the Nice, before joining the space rock band Hawkwind in 1971, singing lead on "Silver Machine" and playing a handful of their albums. After being fired from Hawkwind, he founded Motörhead as lead singer, bassist, songwriter and frontman. Motörhead's success peaked in 1980 and 1981 with the album Ace of Spades (And it's eponymous single) and the top charting live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith. Lemmy continued to record and tour regularly with Motörhead until his death in December 2015 in Los Angeles, where he had lived since 1990. Aside from his musical activities, Lemmy was well known for his hard-living lifestyle and regular consumption of Jack Daniels and amphetamines. He was also noted for his collection of Nazi memorabilia and use of Nazi symbolism, although he clarified that he did not support Nazi ideals and was a libertarian or anarchist. Biography Early Bands (1963 - 1970) Hawkwind (1971 - 1975) Motörhead (1975 - 2015) Personal Life Bands * The Motown Sect - Guitars, Vocals (1966) * The Rainmakers - Guitars (1963 - 1966) * Sam Gopal - Guitars (1968) * Opal Butterfly - Guitars (1970) * The Rockin' Vickers - Guitars (1965 - 1967) * Hawkwind - Bass, Vocals (1971 - 1975) * Robert Calvert's Band - Bass (1972 - 1974) * Motörhead - Bass, Vocals (1975 - 2015) * Headcat - Bass, Guitar, Vocals (2000 - 2015) Selected Discography With Hawkwind *"Silver Machine" / "Seven by Seven" (7" single) (1972) *'Doremi Fasol Latido' (1972) *"Lord of Light" / "Born to Go" (7" single) (1973) *"Urban Guerrilla" / "Brainbox Pollution" (7" single) (1973) *'Space Ritual' (1973) *'Hall of the Mountain Grill' (1974) *"Psychedelic Warlords" / "It's So Easy" (7" single) (1974) *"Kings of Speed" / "Motorhead" (7" single) (1975) *'Warrior on the Edge of Time' (1975) *'The Earth Ritual Preview' EP (guest appearance as bass and backing vocals on Night of the Hawks) (1984) *'Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin' (live 1973) (1985) *'Space Ritual Volume 2' (live 1972) (1985) *'BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert' (live 1972) (1991) *'The Friday Rock Show Sessions' (live 1986) (1992) *'The 1999 Party' (live 1974) (1997) With Motörhead *'Motörhead' (1977, Chiswick) *'Overkill' (1979, Bronze) *'Bomber' (1979, Bronze) *'On Parole' (1979, United Artists) (Recorded 1975 - 1976) *'Ace of Spades' (1980, Bronze) *'No Sleep Til' Hammersmith' (1981, Bronze) (Live Album) *'Iron Fist' (1982, Bronze) *'Another Perfect Day' (1983, Bronze) *'No Remorse' (1984, Bronze) (Compilation) *'Orgasmatron' (1986, GWR) *'Rock n' Roll' (1987, GWR) *'1916' (1991, Epic) *'March ör Die' (1992, Epic) *'Bastards' (1993, ZYX) *'Sacrifice' (1995, Steamhammer) *'Overnight Sensation' (1997, Steamhammer) *'Snake Bite Love' (1998, Steamhammer) *'We Are Motörhead' (2000, Steamhammer) *'Hammered' (2002, Steamhammer) *'Inferno' (2004, Steamhammer) *'Kiss of Death' (2006, Steamhammer) *'Motörizer' (2008, Steamhammer) *'The World Is Yours' (2010, UDR / Motörhead Music) *'Aftershock' (2013, UDR / Motörhead Music) *'Bad Magic' (2015, UDR / Motörhead Music) Misc. Band Releases * The Rockin' Vickers – "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" / "Stella" (7" single, 1965) * The Rockin' Vickers – "It's Alright" / "Stay By Me" (7" single, 1965) * The Rockin' Vickers – "Dandy" / "I Don't Need Your Kind" (7" single, 1966) * Sam Gopal - Escalator (1969) * Sam Gopal - "Horse" / "Back Door Man" (7" single, 1969) * Robert Calvert - "Ejection" / "Catch a Falling Starfighter" (7" single, 1974) * Robert Calvert - Captain Lockhead and the Starfighters (1974) * The Damned - "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" / "The Ballroom Blitz" / "Turkey Song" (7" single, 1979) * Robert Calvert - "Lord of the Hornets" / "The Greenfly and the Rose" (7" single, 1980) * Headgirl (Motörhead & Girlschool) - St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1981) * The Young & Moody Band - "Don't Do That" (Single, 1980) * Lemmy & Wendy O. Williams - Stand By Your Man (1982) * Lemmy & The Upsetters - Blue Suede Shoes (1990) * Lemmy, Slim Jim & Danny B - Lemmy, Slim Jim & Danny B (2000) * The Rockin' Vickers – "The Complete: It's Alright" (Compilation, 2000) * The Head Cat - Fool's Paradise (2006) * The Head Cat - Rockin' the Cat Club: Live From The Sunset Strip (2006) * Lemmy - Damage Case (Career-spanning compilation, 2006) * Keli Raven & Lemmy Kilmister - Bad Boyz 4 Life (Single, 2007) * The Head Cat - Walk The Walk... Talk The Talk (2011) Guest Appearances Equipment Instrument 1 Instrument 2 Amplification Effects External Links References Category:Artist Category:Motörhead Category:Hawkwind Category:Lemmy Category:Burslem Category:Stoke on Trent Category:England Category:Psychedelic Rock Category:Heavy Metal Category:Rock and Roll Category:Stub